Patchwork Family

Feisty Family Series #2

by Bonnie Tharp

Sometimes beautiful things come from odd pieces of fabric, and it doesn't matter if they're a little tattered. They still keep you warm. Just like family.
Annabelle Hubbard thinks she has good reason to be exhausted all the time: she's the caretaker for three good-hearted but challenging grandkids and a three-legged cat named Ms. Pickles, plus she feels awkward about settling like a charity case into her grandmother's home, now owned by her wealthy cousin Regina in Wichita, Kansas.
Regina and Annabelle have never been close, and in the past Regina has begrudged her beleaguered cousin any help. But, family is family! After all, Annabelle supports Regina's romance with silver-haired Wichita attorney Sam Duncan, who encourages Regina to believe in herself again after years with a cheating husband.
But Regina and Annabelle's kinship is put to the test when Annabelle's ex-con son-in-law shows up demanding to get to know his kids.
As Annabelle sets out on a healthy new lifestyle while accepting the romantic advances of a retired coach, Regina wrestles with Sam's marriage proposal, and the dramas of their quickly stitched-together family tug at the seams.
Will this patchwork family survive?

260 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 24, 2014

About the author

Author of:
"Finding Grace" Historical Women's Fiction
"From the Ashes" Rachel McGill mystery #1
"From the Shadows" Rachel McGill #2
"From the Darkness" Rachel McGill #3
"From the Gloom" Rachel McGill #4
"Your Every Move" print & ebook, 2017
"Feisty Family & Friends" print & ebook, 2019
"Patchwork Family" print & ebooks, 2014
"Feisty Family Values" print & ebook, 2010

For book excerpts, book reviews, calendar of events, or writers blog visit http://bonnietharpbooks.net."

Reviews

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the book. It was a continuation of Fiesty Family Values and I liked it more. The characters are very relatable. I also like the inclusion of their "thoughts." Being from Wichita, using landmarks that I knew made it interesting also! It also showed that women of a certain age could have romance in their lives so never give up! The children from a broken home developed and the whole family learned from some mistakes and built new relationships. As stated before, it was a great read.

[Jacqueline Seewald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Patchwork Family is a worthy sequel to Feisty Family Values. It is one year later. Tillie and Joe are happily married and Tillie’s breast cancer continues to be in remission. Sam Duncan, Regina’s attorney and boyfriend, who is a dog lover, buys a puppy for Annabelle’s three grandchildren to enjoy and care for. This adds to Ms. Pickles, the three-legged stray cat adopted by Annabelle in the earlier novel. But like real life, there are problems. Annabelle has to be hospitalized for a heart problem. She worries about the welfare of her parentless grandchildren. Regina and Tillie help out until Annabelle is well again. Tad’s basketball coach, Phil Edwards, takes a romantic interest in Annabelle. She is a woman of 66 or 67 and surprised that this kind and attractive widower would want to date her. The influence of Annabelle and her grandchildren living in Regina’s home has had a good effect. Regina opens up and becomes a happier person, less judgmental, snobbish and unyielding. This is symbolized by her new short stylish haircut and her deepening relationship with Sam. Tom Malone, the children’s father, reappears in their lives after being gone for ten years. He has spent five of those years in prison. A reformed alcoholic and drug abuser, he wants a place in his children’s lives. Much happened in this novel to these well-developed, sympathetic characters that kept me turning the pages. I recommend both Family novels to readers. A very satisfying reading experience.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy this type of story. Multi-generations in the same home. Annabelle is 67 years young and raising her three grandchildren. 16 year old Peggy, 12 year old Tad and 10 year old Megan. Annabelle has the support of her cousins, Regina and Tilly. Stir in the children's father who has been gone for 10 years and an unexpected heart attack for Annabelle and you have a story line that has you turning the pages very quickly. We leave the family with some unresolved issues so hopefully we will see them all soon in a follow up book.

[Tracy Dunn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this read. The first book, Feisty Family Values, is a nice, gentle read. This one had more 'action' in it, which reflects the hustle and bustle, I think, of raising a 16 year old girl and two younger boys. There's a little more hurly-burly pace in this book when the kids show up in the scene, but I love the multi-generational exchanges. The kids' tension in testing their limits and the adults' steering them from pitfalls is universal. This is not a fluff piece with 'feel goods' scattered on every page. Lots of bad stuff is happening to the characters, but because the cast mostly comprising strong women, they're dealing with it. However, the way in which the author has each woman creating her own 'home' shows a deft, practiced touch so that the reader is virtually unaware of the difficulty of writing such a thoughtful reflection of modern day living.

[Juliewheatcox.Net · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved that his story was set in Wichita, my hometown.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great written storyline of abuse, finding love, forgiveness, and starting over.

[Shelia Hammer · Rating 5 out of 5]

The cultivation of family ties continues in this second installment of the Feisty series. It's so easy to feel the pain, laughter and love among this group of family and friends. Love it!

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Patchwork Family: A Review

Patchwork Family, Wichita author Bonnie Tharp’s new book, picks up where Feisty Family Values leaves off. The family members in question, headed by matriarch Annabelle Hubbard, have now come to accept each other—to an extent. It took a long, slow healing process to get to that point and raw feelings still flare up every so often.

Regina, Annabelle’s cousin, has turned Annabelle’s grandmother’s huge home in Riverside over to Annabelle and her three grandchildren. The grandkids, Tad, Peggy, and Megan, are good kids who nevertheless cause Annabelle puzzlement and sometimes outright grief. To add to the confusion is Annabelle’s new friend Phil.

Regina has some conflicts of her own to deal with as she wrestles with her feelings for Sam Duncan, her live-in boyfriend.

When Tom Malone, the grandchildren’s father, shows up unexpectedly on Annabelle’s doorstep, chaos ensues.

If this sounds a little soap opera-ish, it could be if Tharp didn’t have good control of her characters and the plot. This second entry into the feisty family saga is much tighter than the first book, propelling the reader along as the family conflicts work themselves out. The characters have come alive, and even Mrs. Pickles, the three-legged cat, gets her day in the sun.

One of the pleasures for me of reading this book is that I live near the Riverside neighborhood where the book is set, so I don’t have to imagine the book’s landscape. I can see it by taking a short walk from my house. I also find it easy to imagine the internal landscape of older women dealing with challenges they didn’t expect at a certain point in their lives. Among those challenges are the changing nature of each woman’s love life.

In fact, one thing I like about both of Tharp’s book is that the older characters are multi-dimensional. This doesn’t happen often. It’s good to read about people of a certain age who still have energy and doubts and strong emotions despite their age. I also like that this book has a satisfactory resolution.

I’m looking forward to next book in this series. I’m anxious to find out if Tom Malone becomes a major player in his children’s lives and whether Annabelle and Phil become an item.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

WOW!!! This is such an amazing, heartfelt novel!!! I could not read it fast enough. As you read you totally fall in love with this family. They go through real life experiences, nothing is perfect and nothing goes as planned. This is a book about a family that goes on a journey which you feel with your heart and it's totally inspirational as love helps this family come together and patch up all the pieces of their lives. This family faces heartache, tragedy, suspense, teenage mischief, and even a little romance. Through it all you feel this families love for one another shine through as their family becomes whole.

Bonnie Tharp's beautiful writing makes you believe this story as if it's real. I want to know this family. I feel like I DO know this family. This is a book that I will take GREAT pleasure in reading again someday. It is most definitely one to pass on. In fact, I can not wait to give it to my Mom to read so we can talk about it! I'll make sure to tell her she has to give it back to me though, because I want to keep this book in my collection forever.

This is a MUST READ!!! I will most definitely be reading more of Bonnie's books!! (Please tell me she has more books!) I need more Bonnie Tharp!!! Thanks so much Bonnie for writing such a real, honest, heartfelt novel. I completely love it!!!

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks Goodreads Giveaways for a copy of this book!

"Sometimes beautiful things come from odd pieces of fabric, and it doesn't matter if they're a little tattered. They still keep you warm. Just like family."

This was the first "family" novel I read by Bonnie Tharp. What fun it was to be part of the "patchwork family" for a few days. I just loved Annabelle and her determination to take care of and nurture her 3 grandchildren and raise them the best she could. What a courageous and strong woman, handling her own health problems, teen issues, the re-emergence of the children's long absent father into their lives, and willingness to take another chance at love herself. I enjoyed the family dynamics and certainly felt right at home "hearing" the bantering of the kids with one another.

The writing was superb. Ms. Tharp drew me into the story on page 1, and left me, at the end of the story, feeling there must be a sequel in the making.

I am looking forward to hearing more from "The Family."

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very enjoyable read!